Five TRSA Members Make Apparel ‘Top 50’ List

Posted August 11, 2017 at 1:07 pm

Once again, TRSA members have scored well on Apparel Magazine’s “Top 50,” with five companies making the list, and two of these moved up several positions from last year’s rankings.

The Top 50 list is based on companies with at least $100 million in annual sales that are publicly traded on a U.S. stock exchange, plus their respective profit margins.

With those criteria in mind, Cintas Corp. moved up from No. 8 in the 2016 to No. 2 this year, according to rankings that appeared in the July issue of Apparel Magazine, a leading international resource for the global apparel industry.

In a brief profile on Cintas, the article noted last year’s acquisition by Cintas of G&K Services, which achieved its own ranking at No. 17 on the same list. The article noted that the July edition would be G&K’s last appearance on the list due to its acquisition by Cintas. The purchase of G&K for $2.2 billion has added 170,000 U.S. and Canadian customers and nearly $1 billion in revenue to Cintas’ bottom line, the article said. Cintas’ total customer base now exceeds 1 million accounts and total revenue is expected to reach $6 billion.

UniFirst also made the list in 18th place. The company outfits 1.6 million workers daily and sales rose 11% over the past year to $1.7 billion with a profit margin of 7.35%. The company excelled in the past year, serving 300,000 business customers, despite volatility in significant portions of its market such as providing uniforms to oil and gas companies and nuclear reactor operators. UniFirst’s acquisition of Arrow Uniform, a Michigan-based uniform provider for $122 million last September is expected to strengthen the company’s operations in the Midwest, while adding $60 million to its FY ’17 revenues.

The Apparel Magazine honor is one of several UniFirst has achieved recently. For example, UniFirst was named to Selling Power magazine’s “Best Companies to Sell For” list and Florida Trend magazine’s “Best Companies to Work For” list.

The two other TRSA members that made the Top 50 list were both garment supplier firms: Superior Uniform Group and VF Corp.

VF Corp. came in at No. 11 on the list with revenue across all brands up 1% to $12 billion with a profit margin of 8.94%. For 2017, the company’s plan is to focus mainly on three leading brands: Vans, the North Face and Timberland, the article said. The company will continue to look for acquisition opportunities as well.

Superior opened a new manufacturing plant in Haiti that’s showing strong growth with employee numbers moving up from an original estimate of 150 to 180 people. Amid growing demand, the employee figure could reach 300 by the end of 2017, the article said. The acquisition also is expected to contribute to $25 million in 2018, revenue the article said. Another acquisition, Superior’s purchase of BAMKO, a distributor of branded merchandise and promotional products, is expected to add another $27.8 million in direct sales. Click here to download the article. 

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